UNIDIR, the Folke Bernadotte Academy and the Berghof Foundation will co-host a roundtable bringing together researchers, practitioners, policymakers and representatives from or working on conflict-affected contexts to examine the practical and policy implications of engagement with terrorist-designated armed actors. Drawing on experiences from the Middle East, the Lake Chad Basin and northern Mozambique, participants will discuss emerging evidence and lessons from both formal and informal engagement efforts.
As armed conflicts proliferate and geopolitical fragmentation challenges traditional approaches to conflict resolution, established norms around mediation and engagement with armed actors are increasingly being reassessed. New mediation actors are emerging, and in some contexts they have shown greater willingness to engage directly with terrorist-designated armed groups that have historically been excluded from formal peace processes.
This shift raises difficult but increasingly urgent questions. Under what conditions can engagement with terrorist-designated armed groups contribute to de-escalation and peace? What are the risks of such approaches, and what opportunities might they create? How are evolving mediation practices reshaping the wider peacemaking landscape?
The session aims to generate actionable insights on feasible and desirable options for engagement, contributing to ongoing debates on conflict prevention, mediation and peacemaking in an increasingly complex international environment.
Further details will be added in due course.
When and where
Wednesday, 4 November 2026 | 11:00–12:30 CET | Münchenbryggeriet, Stockholm, Sweden
Participants
The event is invitation-only.
In partnership with
